Woman sweeps crime out of S. Seattle complex

Woman sweeps crime out of S. Seattle complex

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Story Published: Oct 10, 2008 at 10:58 PM PDT

Story Updated: Nov 21, 2008 at 3:43 AM PDT

By Joel Moreno

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SEATTLE -- What used to be a crime den is now a peaceful and beloved community thanks to the work of one woman.

Residents of Lake Washington Apartments in the Rainier Beach neighborhood used to have the police department on speed dial, averaging three calls a day.

But then came a new manager who decided to sweat the small stuff and ended up making big changes.

Mertiss Thompson remembers the sounds of gunfire outside his Rainier Beach home.

"A lot of shootings, you know, and the police. You could hear the sirens all the time," he said.

Thompson, a painter and part-time golf instructor, says he used to live next door to danger.

"When I first moved here, they were doing counterfeiting in the floor, in the apartment below me," he said.

But Barbara Biondo swept out all the trouble and dirt. Now the affordable housing complex that used to average 80 calls to police per month only rings in about 20 -- a 75-percent cut in crime and complaints.

Rosendo Mapanao moved into the complex ten years ago and lived alongside gangs and drug users for years. But once Biondo took over, Mapanao says his home has shed its crime-laden past.

"You can walk. It's safer," he said. "I don't consider this the ghetto."

Now there's a waiting list to get into the 366-unit complex.

So what's Biondo's secret?

For starters, she convinced the property owners to buy a new fence and gates. Groundskeepers now trim landscaping so lines of sight stay clear. Biondo calls it crime prevention through environmental design.

"You can see very clearly, the sidewalk, the door, when it's lit up at night, that's a safe place," she said.

Biondo also became pro-active about evicting problem tenants.

"I like problem solving. I like that challenge. And I think we've been successful solving a problem here," she said.

One tenant summed it up best, saying just because a place has always had problems doesn't mean people have to accept it. Lake Washington Apartments proved it to be true.

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